Late Amendments, Delay And Unfair Prejudice: A Lesson In Getting It Right The First Time

The High Court has given a sharp and very clear message that late in the day amendments to pleadings at commencement of a trial or close to trial require the exercise of the discretion by the primary judge to take into account what the Chief Justice described as the "irreparable element of unfair prejudice in unnecessarily delaying proceedings".

Late in the day amendments to pleadings will now be a risk management issue in the conduct of litigation. If you need to amend in the six months prior to trial it will be an increasingly greater risk the later in time the application is made.

All judgments of the Court supported the observations of the Chief Justice that the time of the Court is a publicly funded resource. Inefficiencies in the use of that resource arising from the vacation or adjournment of trials are to be taken into account. So too is the need to maintain public confidence in the judicial system. Delays and costs are undesirable and delay has